CommScope Redefines In-building Wireless with ION-E

—Meet the World’s First Truly Unified Wireless Infrastructure for
Enterprises—

Of the approximately 30 billion square meters of commercial real estate in use today globally, only approximately two percent are currently covered with a dedicated indoor wireless network. That is a serious issue in a world that expects ubiquitous, reliable service for increasingly faster data rates. (Photo: Business Wire)

Download

Of the approximately 30 billion square meters of commercial real estate in use today globally, only approximately two percent are currently covered with a dedicated indoor wireless network. That is a serious issue in a world that expects ubiquitous, reliable service for increasingly faster data rates. (Photo: Business Wire)

The ION-E is a unified wireless infrastructure platform designed around IT-based structured cabling architecture, making it friendly to both wireless operators and business enterprises alike. (Graphic: Business Wire)

BUCHDORF, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When 80 percent of mobile connections are made inside buildings but only
about two percent of the world’s commercial space is covered from the
inside, clearly something has to change.

That change is happening now, as CommScope introduces a completely new
architecture for in-building wireless systems.

Unveiled today by CommScope, the ION®-E is a unified wireless
infrastructure platform designed around IT-based structured
cabling architecture, making it friendly to both wireless operators
and business enterprises alike. The flexibility, scalability and
simplicity of the system resolve the issues associated with rapidly
changing indoor coverage and capacity demands.

The ION-E bringstogether licensed wireless and power
plus Gigabit
Ethernet for WiFi
into one unified wireless network that can scale to building size and is
technology and spectrum adaptive. Unlike any other offerings available
today, it features multi-band, multi-operator and multi-technology
capabilities and uses the standard IT structured cabling infrastructure
common to most commercial buildings. The ION-E is currently available
for operator trials in Europe with expected general availability in
other regions in the second half of 2014.

“Overstating the impact of the ION-E will be hard because this system
solves so many challenges at once,” said Morgan Kurk, senior vice
president, Wireless, CommScope. “It combines the capability and
flexibility of cloud
RAN while making DAS
simple and unifying the local area and wide area networks. This
intelligent transport system can finally fulfill the promise of small
cells.”

“Bottom line: the ION-E is not just another DAS—it is unified wireless
infrastructure, a whole new category that addresses the needs of both
the enterprise building owner and the wireless operator,” added Kurk.

Trends in the enterprise market make supporting mobile devices in
businesses imperative. Bring
Your Own Device policies, increased concern about wireless security
and the proliferation of smartphones have combined to make indoor
systems mandatory. IT managers are often tasked with supporting both
wired and wireless networks in the enterprise despite having limited
training in RF.

Yet, of the approximately 30 billion square meters of commercial real
estate in use today globally, only approximately two percent are
currently covered with a dedicated indoor wireless network. That is a
serious issue in a world that expects ubiquitous, reliable service for
increasingly faster data rates.

The ION-E platform solves the biggest roadblocks to in-building wireless
through simplicity, flexibility and scalability.

The ION-E simplifies implementation by using the structured cabling
systems familiar to IT installers, along with providing a simple user
interface for setup and configuration with minimal input.

Today’s modern buildings require flexibility to handle floor space
layout changes, the relocation of users, or other changes that would
require an extensive rework of the wireless system. As a multi-band,
multi-operator and multi-technology platform, the ION-E employs a
standard grid approach and supports on-demand software defined
frequencies to flexibly adapt to changing requirements.

The ION-E platform easily scales to support buildings from 5,000 to
500,000 square meters. It is frequency agile and technology agnostic,
eliminating the need for costly infrastructure and equipment upgrades.

The world lacks people who have RF design expertise. This limits the
deployment of traditional distributed antenna system (DAS) networks at a
time when deploying indoor networks within enterprise buildings is
increasingly in demand. With the ION-E, CommScope has simplified and
optimized a solution that empowers IT professionals to deploy these
systems. For example, adding network capacity to meet changing usage
patterns is achieved with a simple click-and-drag. The ION-E
self-detects and self-configures its components, while sending alarm
notifications when it detects network issues.

“Simple, scalable and flexible—those three words capture the essence of
the ION-E,” said Kurk. “IT people who are not as familiar with RF
networks will find the equipment intuitive and simple while being able
to scale the ION-E to any building and flexibly support any wireless
technology.”

CommScope is introducing the ION-E to Mobile
World Congress attendees this week in Barcelona, Spain. CommScope’s
wireless experts will be in Stand 2I46 in Hall 2 to discuss the ION-E
unified wireless infrastructure and other CommScope innovations for
simplicity. Following Mobile World Congress, the ION-E will be available
only in Europe with expectations of a global release in the second half
of 2014.

CommScope (www.commscope.com,
NASDAQ: COMM) has played a role in virtually all the world’s best
communication networks. We create the infrastructure that connects
people and technologies through every evolution.Our portfolio of
end-to-end solutions includes critical infrastructure our customers need
to build high-performing wired and wireless networks. As much as
technology changes, our goal remains the same: to help our customers
create, innovate, design, and build faster and better. We’ll never stop
connecting and evolving networks for the business of life at home, at
work, and on the go.

This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on
information currently available to management, management’s beliefs, as
well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events.
Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are
subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, which could
cause the actual results to differ materially from those currently
expected. In providing forward-looking statements, the company does not
intend, and is not undertaking any obligation or duty, to update these
statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.